Full Restore? Advice Needed.

G'day All,

I picked up this Wade & Butcher off e-bay a few days ago and for it's age it seems in pretty good nick.

Attachment 159665


Attachment 159668

As you can see there is some severe hone wear on the spine and some surface scratching I'm guessing come from an attempt to clean it up.

What i assumed was pitting on the face seems pretty cosmetic.

Attachment 159674

The scales are fine in that they are not warped but a little dinged up and the pivot is loose at the point of closing.

I've very limited experience of straight razors but have quickly developed a lust for antique Sheffield steel.

So should I clean it, hone it, use it.

Or go the whole hog and make all shiney and new.

Your expertise would be greatly appreciated.

There are definitely two camps on that one. I think you should give it a quick clean and send it out for a honing. Unless your experience is well beyond your join date I wouldn't worry about trying to hone it yourself. After you get it back shave and contemplate your razor. Once the patina is gone it's not that easy to put back. It doesn't look like it has much for pitting and black rust so in theory it could go a lifetime with care. In the end it is a personal choice.

The toe wear is greater than at the heel & the heel is worn into the stabiliser which in turn will accentuate the toe wear.
Can't actually see a bevel at the heel but it may be the light.

I wouldn't bother restoring it but it could be made to shave with some work.

Here's mine:

Attachment 159682

I tightened the pivot and honed it. A little neatsfoot oil on the scales and we're done. Your scales are in better shape than mine. You can't make a natural patina like that, IMHO. I was wondering about restoration at first too, but I'm very glad I left it as is.

It's a wonderful shave.

My advise would be to grind away a little at the shoulders near the heel to expose the blade edge better and even out the wear toe / heel, then hone it and use it. The patina on it looks pretty good I think.

I would do the least possible to get it working, tighten the pivot and honing as necessary, i would send it out to smeone like os, he did me very well, and if i wasnt playing around with hones a bit now he would still be getting my razors.

That's a nice pickup from Ebay. If you have no experience honing, I would not recommend that being your first attempt. If you have the honing equipment, I would recommend picking up some cheap razors (or even Chinese Gold Dollars), to get some experience before honing such a nice razor. At the same time, this might be just the type of razor you might want to send out to a pro.

Pick up some cheap vintage razors from the Bay but as one who tried already, Gold Dollars are NOT for a novice on the hones. They almost always require some grinding and unless you are experienced, you're going to end up picking up some poor honing habits. Find a cheap straight with a fairly even edge and a good spine and practice on that.

Stay away from the Gold Dollars until you have a few years under your belt.

YMMV,

Frank

My 2cents is to get it honed and shave. Being shiny won't make it shave any better.

Thanks everyone for your advice and feedback, after having it in hand for a few days I've decided I like the way it looks as is. I'll get the pivot tightened and honed by a pro and it'll be good for another hundred years.